Spherical shell game apparatus having internal cups and a freely moveable ball

ABSTRACT

A game including a hollow transparent spherical shell having a loose ball confined therein and a plurality of consecutively numbered cups within the shell. The object of the game is to transfer the ball from one cup to another in consecutively numbered order.

United States Patent Kinberg et al.

SPHERICAL SHELL GAME APPARATUS HAVING INTERNAL CUPS AND A FREELY MOVEABLE BALL Benjamin Kinberg, 425 Riverside Drive, New York, NY. 10025; Richard J. Mayer, Bloomfield, NJ.

Assignee: said Kinberg, by said Mayer Filed: July 31, 1969 Appl. No.: 846,329

Inventors:

US. Cl. ..273/96 R, 273/l 15, 273/95 R Int. Cl. ..A63f 9/06 Field of Search ..273/95, 96, I13, 115

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,100,898 11/1937 Bernett ..273/95 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Playthings January, 1969 P. 61

Primary Examiner--Richard Cr Pinkham Assistant ExaminerMarvin Siskind Attorney-Charles J. Worth 57] ABSTRACT A game including a hollow transparent spherical shell having a loose ball confined therein and a plurality of consecutively numbered cups within the shell. The object of the game is to transfer the ball from one cup to another in consecutively numbered order.

8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 4 I972 3,653,663

INVENTORS BENJAMIN KINBERG RICHARD JJMYER ORNEY SPHERICAL SHELL GAME APPARATUS HAVING INTERNAL CUPS AND A FREELY MOVEABLE BALL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to games, and more particularly to a game of skill.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a game which requires a high degree of skill.

' Another object is to provide such a game which is amusing to children and adults.

Another object is to provide such a game which is attractive in appearance.

Another object is to provide such a game which is sturdy in construction.

A further object is to provide such a game which can be fabricated in a simple and economical manner.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects are generally accomplished by providing a game which comprises a hollow transparent spherical shell, a loose ball confined with the shell, and a plurality of spaced cups secured to the inner wall of the shell, one of the cups having a side opening for admitting the ball at the starting point.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the shell looking horizontally at the outer end of the cup provided with the side opening.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of one of the other cups taken along the line 2-2 on FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing in detail, there is shown a game in accordance with the present invention which generally comprises a hollow transparent spherical shell 10, a loose ball 11 confined within the shell, and a plurality of cups secured to the inner wall of the shell.

For example, eight cups 12 are provided which are identified by numerals 1 thru 8 which are arranged in consecutive order. Consecutive letters of the alphabet could be employed instead of numerals. Preferably, the numerals are on the shell 10 at the base of the cups 12 although they could be on the cups. As shown in FIG. 2, the cups are flared towards the center of the shell and are frusto-conical in shape. The cups are open at the outer end thereof and the inner wall of the shell provides a closure for these openings.

The shell 10 is formed of two hemi-spherical sections and four cups 12 are adhesively or otherwise secured to each shell section. Thereafter, the ball 11 is deposited in one of the shell sections and the shell sections are secured to each other.

The cup identified by the numeral 1, which is the starting point of the game; has a side opening 14 for admitting the ball 11 by rolling the ball from the inner wall of the shell 10 through this opening.

The shell 10 has indicia thereon such as V-shaped marks or arrows 15 for indicating the direction from one cup to the following numbered cup, that is, from cup 1 to cup 2, from cup 2 to cup 3, and so forth.

The cups 2 may be spaced evenly, but preferably are spaced unevenly to make the game more difficult to be played. For example, as shown, the distance between cups 2 and 3 is greater than the distance between cups 1 and 2.

The game is played by rolling the ball 11 into cup 1 and than attempting to transfer the ball to cup 2 by tilting the shell in the proper angle and at the roper momentum. The pla er then attempts to transfer the all from cup 2 to cup 3 an so SUMMATION From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides an interesting, fascinating and frustrating game which can be played by one or more persons.

We claim:

l. A game comprising a hollow transparent spherical shell, a loose ball confined within said shell, and a plurality of spaced apart cups having their bases secured to the inner wall of said shell so that the ball may be consecutively transferred from cup to cup by gravity, each transfer being effected by imparting a tilting motion to said shell, one of said cups having an opening in its side for admitting said ball.

2. A game according to claim 1, wherein said cups are mounted directly to the inner wall of said shell.

3. A game according to claim 2, wherein said cups are flared outwardly towards the center of said shell.

4. A game according to claim 2, wherein said cuts are spaced unevenly.

5. A game according to claim 2, wherein said cups are identified by numerals arranged adjacently in consecutive order.

6. A game according to claim 5, wherein said numerals are on said shell at the base end of said cups.

7. A game according to claim 5, wherein said shell has indicia for indicating the direction from one cup to the following numbered cup.

8. A game according to claim 5, wherein the cup identified by the lowest numeral is said cup having said side opening. 

1. A game comprising a hollow transparent spherical shell, a loose ball confined within said shell, and a plurality of spaced apart cups having their bases secured to the inner wall of said shell so that the ball may be consecutively transferred from cup to cup by gravity, each transfer being effected by imparting a tilting motion to said shell, one of said cups having an opening in its side for admitting said ball.
 2. A game according to claim 1, wherein said cups are mounted directly to the inner wall of said shell.
 3. A game according to claim 2, wherein said cups are flared outwardly towards the center of said shell.
 4. A game according to claim 2, wherein said cuts are spaced unevenly.
 5. A game according to claim 2, wherein said cups are identified by numerals arranged adjacently in consecutive order.
 6. A game according to claim 5, wherein said numerals are on said shell at the base end of said cups.
 7. A game according to claim 5, wherein said shell has indicia for indicating the direction from one cup to the following numbered cup.
 8. A game according to claim 5, wherein the cup identified by the lowest numeral is said cup having said side opening. 